


Not Safe For Nuzlocke

by Lust_Demon



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: AU, Dark, Drugs, F/F, F/M, Implied Incest, M/M, Multi, Nuzlocke, Pokephilia, Rape
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2018-11-30 00:18:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11452068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lust_Demon/pseuds/Lust_Demon
Summary: A Dark story to go along with the Nuzlocke run that I'm having for Omega Ruby.  There will be a lot of dark themes (obviously) and some triggering content along the way.  I will be trying to tag for everything and giving warnings in each of the chapters but there will be a lot...





	1. Prologue: Out the door and on the road

**Author's Note:**

> Ruby's ready to run...

Some people could get used to the way things ran in the Erotanis region.  It had come under the ownership of team Panacea a few generations back and that was more than enough time for the team to work its way through everything from businesses to education facilities. Sadly, even the pokemon league challenge had changed. Because the different regions had taken a pledge a long time ago not to over stretch their boundaries by crossing borders, Johto, Kanto and the rest couldn't interfere without permission or pleas from someone who lived in Erotanis. And Panacea made sure that everyone was silent so they could continue to run things the way they wanted to. 

So people went about their daily lives, and they adjusted. People with soft temperaments turned just a little mean out of self preservation. People that were weak either got weeded out or they became stronger and kept a stranglehold on what made them strong for fear of slipping back into the dregs of society. Young people were taught to look out for themselves first and joining gangs wasn't uncommon because if you walked with a lot of other people it was a little safer. Unless Panacea thought you might be trying to threaten their team. Children weren't truly a threat so they would be slapped around and sent home. Teenagers had it harder because they could be a problem. And adults we're strongly suggested to either fall in line or suffer the consequences. 

The legal age to go out on a pokemon journey was still ten, but now parents were less likely to send their children out on the road alone. Most children stayed in their home town or city and trained until they were of an age their parents said they could leave.  Or until their pokemon were strong enough that they could run away from their parents. Some came home in tears, some victorious. And some not at all. 

Ruby looked out through the bars on her bedroom window, her heart beating hard at the thought of going out on the road. Since she was little she had held onto the idea of traveling the region to see everything she could and becoming powerful. She had no idea what she would do with power, but if she had an unbeatable team of pokemon then she could be anything she wanted. She could open her own gym. She could become a breeder. The sky was the limit, but only if she could get a full, unstoppable team.  She had studied in secret for so long, memorizing the type advantages and strategies of different gym leaders that she read about in magazines.  Her father had different ideas for what she would do and she had been home schooled, learning all the necessities and niceties that he thought were good for a growing girl. 

Her fingers curled on the bars and she grit her teeth. They were in place to keep others out as much as they were to keep her in. And she knew that she didn't have it nearly as bad as some others out there, but it was still more than she could stand. She hated her father's lessons, hated that he praised her and hated that a small part of her wanted to make him happy. She shook her head and looked over at the clock on her nightstand. This would be about the time that he would be going to bed. Slipping under the covers, she let her eyes half close and listened for the sound of footsteps. She tried to think of it like some sort of action movie, like she was the beautiful main character about to make a daring escape. But as the seconds ticked by and silence ensued, all she could picture was her father waiting up outside her room or her falling asleep by accident and missing her great chance. 

But she needed to stop panicking about this moment. Because if she couldn't get through this night, how was she ever going to make it on the road to the championship?  She read the statistics about wipe outs on the road to the Elite. Some people couldn't even make it all the way through their gym training. If she was to fail then would she live on the streets or would she come home to her father?  No doubt he'd take her back, but she'd never get to go outside without an escort ever again…

Her thoughts were spinning around so much that the sound of the stairs creaking actually made her jolt. She bit her lip and hugged the blanket close to her, counting the seconds to the next sound that would indicate he reached the top most landing. She did the same thing now that she used to do as a little girl, praying that he would just go to bed and not look in on her. She already gave him a kiss goodnight before she came up to bed, he didn't need more. Her lips moved silently repeating “don't come in” as she heard the footsteps moving from the staircase landing and over to her bedroom, pausing where she was sure was right in front of her door. She willed herself to stop breathing, for her heart to stop beating, straining to hear where he went and finally relaxing when his steps went away from her door and down just a bit to his own bedroom. She could have cried with relief and she sat up, looking up at the ceiling. By the time she grabbed all her things she was taking, he should be asleep and she could finally get out. 

Swinging her legs out of bed, she smiled and pressed her hands to her face, holding in her excitement. She wasn't outside just yet, but every second brought her closer to her goal. She had been planning this for so long and it was only now that she had enough stashed away to actually make this a possibility. Running away cost money and trade, something she had in short supply thanks to her father's hold on the family assets. And yet, she had managed to save enough to start her off. She had taken a little at a time for about a year, tucking money into one of the stuffed animals on her bed, terrified her father might raid her room and find it in her sock drawer. 

Pulling out of bed, she grabbed the stuffed animal and pushed open the seam that she used as a pocket, taking out the couple hundred dollars there. Quietly, she snuck around her room to take other things out of hiding. She had tucked a pair of sneakers into her closet and she put them on now, her favorite hoodie tugged on since she wouldn't have time to mess around in the downstairs closet looking for her jacket. A thick satchel that was in the back of her closet to keep supplies in. A box of granola bars and a water bottle with extra filters. She couldn't do more than the basics and she knew she would be relying on pokemon centers if the weather turned nasty. In one of her drawers she took out a mint tin and she stuffed that in alongside her birth control pills. Some liners in case she started spotting and… sadly that was everything she had.  A couple changes of clothes that would hopefully be durable enough for the road, and that was it. The one who held her hopes was the pokemon professor and she would see him soon hopefully. 

Not for the first time she wondered if the professor was just going to steal everything she had and turn her back over to her father. He had no reason to help her except from the goodness of his heart. And really, who actually helped someone just because they could?  But she had to take the chance. She slipped the satchel on and crept over to her bedroom door, listening again. Licking her lips, she turned the knob on her door and pulled it open so she could slip out through the small opening and make her way to the stairs with a fast beating heart. She couldn’t remember which one of the stairs would make a creaking noise if she stepped on it and her throat went dry as she looked back over her shoulder towards her father’s room.  Gripping the hand rail, she felt her nerves practically vibrating as she made her way down slowly.  Everything that she did right now was so slow and she craved the moment when she’d be outside and be able to actually stretch her legs into a run.  Smiling to herself, she turned at the bottom of the stairs and looked towards the kitchen area.  Her father would see that she was gone in the morning anyways, so this would be a good opportunity to grab more food.  She might even be able to use it as trade on her journey.  She didn’t dare try to take any raw meat of course, but some fruit?  She stuffed some apples into her bag, keeping an eye on the stairs as she went.  Would she ever get out of the habit of looking over her shoulder and expecting her father to show up at every turn?  Probably not.  He was a shadow that would loom over her all her life…

At least until she got a team of powerful pokemon.  Just enough muscle to protect her from him and anyone else that wanted to push her around.  Maybe if she was really lucky she could find a dragon type?  It was really rare and any that were in breeding centers were watched by team Panacea because of how strong they could be, but possibly in the wild she might come across one if she was diligent in her searches. Although she wasn't certain where to start… maybe she'd just have to study maps and research at pokecenters once she was on the road. 

There was a soft creak from upstairs and she froze in horror, nearly dropping the tinned ham that she was taking from the cupboard. Not waiting to see if there would be another sound, she stuffed the tins she hastily grabbed and made her way towards the door. Unlocking it, she felt her heart rise in her chest when she saw the moonlight streaming down on everything. For just a second she was frozen by how peaceful everything outside looked. Edgedale had never been beautiful in her memories. There were patches of dead grass from the lawn being cut too short, the driveway had crushed beer cans scattered from her father having guests over. Yet it was still a beautiful sight to her simply because she would be able to be out in it as much as she pleased now. Her breath caught in her throat and she closed the door after her, her knees wobbling as she walked away from the house without looking back. The night air was cool on her skin and Ruby made her way towards the main street of the small town, looking around to make sure no one else was around. 

In the neighbor's yard she could see a mightyena was tied up, sleeping not far from the gate to act as a watch dog. The moonlight on the black and grey fur made it look unreal and she wondered if catching one of those might be a good idea. She could train it to keep watch while she slept… and if it got too cold then it might be good to curl up with. She was also certain that there were some in the nearby area. It wouldn't be too difficult to catch one if she came across it. 

Continuing down the street, she adjusted the satchel she was carrying, acutely aware of how much weight she would have to carry every day from now on. She didn't even have a full pack of proper supplies and it felt heavy on her shoulder. That would be another thing she would have to get used to. Could she find a way to train herself as she trained her pokemon?  Perhaps they could share an exercise routine?  Something to strengthen the muscles and help her stamina. Most likely the other trainers in the pokecenter could give her some advice. 

The gravel crunched underfoot as she went and Ruby reached up so she could twist her hair up and out of the way. Depending on how things went she might want to get a hat and baggy clothes to hide the fact that she was a girl, but if the weather was too hot she might not be able to manage it. As nervous as she was, and even knowing how much danger would be ahead, she was still happy to run.  If she went far enough, fast enough, her father probably wouldn’t even try to come after her either.  Edgedale was a small town so she couldn’t stay here even if it was overnight, she would have to reach Fairwick at the very least.  Better if she didn’t stop until she got to the next town over with the first gym though.  Bleakburg was home to a strong gym and she was sure once she reached there at the very least, she could rest easier.

But first she needed to get to the Professor.  He promised that he would be waiting near the edge of town with her pokemon.  He was a breeder, licensed by the region to give starter pokemon so she would be sure to get something stable.  He had already warned her that he couldn’t give her anything too special.  Team Panacea took record of all the pokemon that had superb genes, monitoring the pairings that happened in certain breeding centers so they could take the best of what was there and determining who of the normal public was allowed to take the ‘leavings’.  

Passing by an old abandoned house, she barely glanced at the graffiti that was sprayed across the boarded up windows.  It was something that she’d seen on any broken down building, she figured.  Messages about whores and murderers that may or may not be true.  Gang signs from fledgling punks that wanted to be tough and might actually turn out to be tough in the end if they were lucky and followed a good set of rules.  As she turned the corner, the next wall that she saw was filled up with names and she paused briefly.  The entire wall was white washed and it was one of the few that wasn’t graffitied.  Instead of the gang symbols; the crude drawings of dicks; the declarations of death, there was a list of names and dates and occasionally places.  Trainers that went out on the same path that she did, looking to get glory or freedom and never came home.  And these were just the names of people from her own town.  As she went forward, she’d probably find a monument of some sort in each city.  Wanting to pay her respects, she bowed her head and then hurried on, not wanting to think about the fact that there was at least a few names on there that she recognized.

Once she reached the edge of town, she looked up at the large gates that proclaimed the name, the broken letters that sat crookedly on it.  On impulse, she turned to look back at the houses and wondered if there was anyone else that was going to be following her lead once she was gone.  There were a few of the names on that wall that left together, either as a couple or a gang to be better protected.  Would she be responsible for someone else surviving out here?

“Ruby?” A deep voice called out and she spun around, her eyes wide. 

She felt a small smile quirk her features, however, when she saw Professor Snag waving to her.  He had a small backpack of his own and she looked up at him in worry as she went over to him.  The husky man knelt down and took out a pokeball from his backpack, handing it over to her quickly.  He hadn’t even asked for payment yet and he was trusting her with the pokeball.  She could feel the weight of it, able to feel that it was heavier than a normal one, telling that this one had an actual life inside and wasn’t just waiting for whatever she could catch.

“I’m glad that you made it.” 

The Professor looked tired and she shivered as she gazed up at him, the bags under his eyes making him seem even older than he already was.  The Professor was one of the few who grew up able to see the last of the rebellions against Team Panacea.  While he likely didn’t see the region as it originally was, his parents had tried to fight to get it back to normal and failed.  Was that why he was doing this now?  Was this his small way of trying to hold onto something good?  There was no way for him to tell which trainers he gave pokemon to would act for good or bad though, so maybe that’s why he looked so sad and tired.

“I’m glad I could too.” Ruby crouched down, swinging her satchel off and digging inside for his payment.  Taking out the mint tin, she offered it over to him.  “Here, I’ve been taking vicodin from my dad’s stash a little at a time.  I know it’s not a lot but--”

“Ruby…” Professor Snag shook his head a little and she tensed up, pulling back from him.  “I didn’t do this for drugs or money.”

“I don’t…” Ruby tensed, waiting for him to reach out and grab her, expecting him to take his payment with something else.

“I want you to get out of here.” He spoke softly.  “I can’t give you the best pokemon and I can’t afford to give you a lot of supplies either, but I can give you a start.”

He passed her a small handful of pressurized pokeballs.  Ten to start her out with.  Ten little chances at gathering a good team.  She looked from the balls in her hand to him and carefully put them away in a side pocket so they’d be easy for her to reach when she wanted to make a catch.  Snag was looking at her sadly and his hand was stretched out for her to take, staying a few inches away to let her know that he wasn’t about to touch her without permission.  It was so… alien to her.  So kind that she couldn’t really fathom it.

“Once you get to Fairwick you’ll be able to get a pokenav at the center so save your money for that.  You’ll also have to register once you’re there and that’s going to put you on the radar.  Everything that you do from this point on, every battle you get into, whether it’s with a trainer or a gym is going to be recorded by your nav and wirelessly uploaded to the league’s data center.” Professor Snag explained quietly.

And anything that the league knew, Team Panacea would know as well.  She would have to make a decision soon whether she wanted to stay solo or whether she could trust someone else to help her on her way and be part of a duo or a gang.

“What now…” She looked at the Professor nervously, holding the full pokeball to her chest, letting the small creature inside feel her heart beating and willing it to understand that she wanted to stay beside it for the long run.

“Now?  Say hello to your starter, name him if you want to.  And don’t stop running until you reach Fairwick at the very least.  You’ve still got some hours ahead until daylight when your father wakes up so take advantage of that.” Professor Snag instructed her, standing up and brushing his knees clear of any dirt.

Looking at the ball in her hand, Ruby aimed it at the ground and activated it.  A small, green pokemon appeared and blinked up at her, resting a hand on his hip with a saucy little grin.  Just looking at him she could tell that he was naughty, would get into trouble if she wasn’t careful.

“I… think I’ll call you Hoshi.” She smiled nervously and offered her hand to her new partner.


	2. Chapter One: On to Fairwick!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of exposition as Ruby continues on her way. We learn more about Team Panacea bit by bit and Ruby gets a small surprise...

Hoshi stayed by her side as they made their way through the first bit of tall grass along route 101. His dark eyes darted side to side like he was itching to get into a fight and Ruby swallowed nervously as she looked down at him. He was little now but he'd get bigger soon enough. Would she still be able to command him when he grew stronger?  Supposedly gathering gym badges would ensure that your pokemon listened to you, so until she had her first one she needed to make sure that he knew she was in charge, right?

“So, Hoshi.” She started, her voice soft. “I'm assuming Professor Snag bred you. Did you come from a large clutch?”

The Treecko looked up at her and nodded quickly. Even as they walked he chattered and made motions with his hands that she tried to follow. 

“There were… five other eggs?  And you are the youngest?  No, smallest?” Ruby smiled as she picked up on his mannerisms. 

He gave a thumbs up and she had to giggle, the tension slowly leaking away from her. When he pointed to her, her smile faded. It was only fair that she share with him too. Maybe then he would understand why she was doing this?  It could start them out on the bonding process. 

“I used to have a big sister and a little sister.” Ruby explained quietly, stepping over some rocks. “We used to live in a bigger town actually, but when my little sister died my dad decided that we would come live here.”

Hoshi made a soft noise and she absently reached down to pat his head, smiling to him. 

“She was in grade school when she died. There was this sickness going around. Some sort of flu. Big sister Pearl and I were fine, but Jasmine couldn't shake it. She died and… it was difficult on all of us.” Ruby continued in the same soft tones.  “As for big sister, once she was old enough and she finished her training with Daddy, she decided to become a trainer. She wanted to make money to send back to us. We never got proof that she died but her pokenav stopped wiring money back so… maybe she quit, or maybe someone stole it all?”

Hoshi made a soft noise and Ruby looked down when she felt a hand curling around her fingers. Smiling to her little pokemon, she took a deep breath and looked up at the stars. She had gotten away from her father, so who was to say that her sister didn't as well. Maybe she made enough money to start a new life and then disappeared into the night?  Maybe one day she would see her again?  She could hold onto that small hope. 

There was a quiet noise a good ten feet away and Ruby blinked when Hoshi let out a dangerous snarl, placing himself between her and the sound. Was this protectiveness something that was normal?  Or maybe it was something specific to the pokemon that were bred by Professor Snag?  She shook the thoughts away and took a small step back when she saw the first signs of possible trouble making its way towards her. 

“I didn't expect to see another trainer out here so late at night!” A male voice cheerfully called out, making her tense further. “How about a battle?”

“I only have one pokemon. And I'm just starting out.” Ruby could feel her knees shaking and her voice came out in a quiver. 

“It's okay, I just have one too.” The male trainer lifted up a branch that was hanging low enough to hide his features from view. “Come on, lemme see what you've got!”

Bile threatened the back of her throat at those words. He didn't mean it in the malicious way that she remembered it being said before. It wasn't even being said in a nasty, lecherous way, but she couldn't help the helpless feeling that washed over her. 

“TREE!”

Her pokemon screeching didn't make the feeling go away entirely but it did startle her into moving just enough to be ready when the other trainer took out a pokeball and tossed it in her direction. Her hearing was taken over by the pounding of her heart and she let her eyes dart from the chick pokemon to her Treecko. Type disadvantage for her, she'd have to rely on common attacks and hope Hoshi was fast enough to dodge.  She saw her little pokemon look back at her briefly and he must have seen what he wanted because after that all his attention was focused forward. Even when her words stuttered, he didn't hesitate to dodge or use a growl to threaten and startle the other pokemon so it's attacks would be less effective. Claws came out and slashed at feathers even as a sharp beak landed on Hoshi’s scales. Her heart sank when one cut landed harshly and left an angry red streak along Hoshi’s arm, but the grass type wasn't about to give in and he continued to snap and snarl at the opposing pokemon. It felt like tunnel vision as she stared at the blood dripping off Hoshi and desperately called out to him, guiding him to leap off a tree trunk that had fallen over and use the force of his weight coming down to tackle into the torchic. 

It hardly took any time and she blinked when the opponents pokemon stopped moving around. She could see it twitching and looked from it to the trainer. 

“Your pokemon can't battle anymore, we need to stop.” She clasped her hands in front of her. 

“You're right. That was good though. I thought I would win for sure.” The guy still sounded cheerful as he scooped up his pokemon and dug for some berries to coax into it's maw. “You did good Pyro. We’ll beat them next time though.”

Ruby squeaked when Hoshi rushed over to her and leaped up into her arms. Rubbing his head, she checked the gash on his arm and cuddled him. They would need to get that fixed up before they went anywhere. 

“So you're just starting too?” The boy started towards her, his face coming out of the shadows just enough for her to see he had a deep scar over one dark brown eye. 

“Yeah…” Ruby spoke softly, hugging Hoshi for support and stroking his back when she heard him growling still. “Who're you?  And where are you from?  I don't remember seeing you in Edgedale.”

“Nah, I'm in the next town over, Fairwick. Not nearly as pretty as the name suggests though.  So I figure I’ll get out and see the sights.  I'm Jasper, by the way.”

“Ruby.” She offered a small smile and started to reach out but had to stop because Hoshi wouldn't stop growling. “Um, sorry, maybe we should get going. I think Hoshi is getting kinda defensive and I wouldn't want you to get hurt or anything.”

“No worries!” Jasper held his hands up, taking a step back. “Maybe I’ll see you on the road.”

“Good luck.” Ruby called out after him. “And be careful in the dark!”

Jasper turned as he was walking to wave to her and she cuddled Hoshi close, looking down at him. To her surprise the little pokemon didn't seem happy and she crouched down so she could dig for her water and pour it over the cut so it wouldn't get infected. 

“Sorry, I don't have any potions yet..”

Hoshi huffed quietly but at least he wasn't growling anymore so she was fairly certain that he wasn’t too mad. She didn't have a proper first aid kit even so she cleaned the cut as best she could and then took out an apple to offer him. 

“You did really good. I'm proud of you.” She smiled softly. “We’re nearly to Fairwick I think, so we’ll be able to stop at a pokecenter and we can heal you up.  And get a proper first aid kit.”

Hoshi stared up at her in silence and she nervously started to pull her hand back.  Carefully, she let Hoshi back down and then started to search her bag for the apples that she had hastily stuffed inside before she left.  When she passed it over to him, the little green lizard put nearly the entire thing into his mouth at once and she let out a soft cry, gaining his attention again.

“You don’t have to eat it so fast.  I’m not going to take it away.” She looked down at him worriedly.  Surely the Professor hadn’t been starving this sweet little guy so why would he go to put so much in his mouth at once?

She had to smile a bit when Hoshi tilted his head and then set his hands on the apple, gripping and twisting so it was messily snapped in half.  The juice ran down his arms and Ruby smiled when he offered the bigger part over to her.  Kneeling beside him, she accepted the half and took a small bite, wanting to show him that there was no need to shovel it all down quickly.  She didn’t usually eat apples, prefered oranges, and she wondered if that might be the reason that her father kept so many of the dark red fruit in the house.  He did complain that she ate too much and didn’t give enough back to the house.  Not that he would let her get a job outside the house anyways.  She had to do what he wanted her to right there for him and his friends.  Didn’t that count though?

Her fingers curled tightly on the apple and she took another smile bite.  It would be easier to find apples on the road than oranges so she should get used to the taste of them.  And maybe if she started eating them beside Hoshi they would taste better because of the company?  She was surprised to find that it wasn't too bad and she looked down at it in contemplation, her gaze drifting from the apple to the wild grass that grew all around them. Smiling, she shuffled and leaned back against a tree, looking up to the leaves. It would just be a short break but she knew after they ate they would have to keep moving on. Once she got her pokenav, she could put the Professor's number in it and try to contact him, but if her father and his friends suspected Snag had anything to do with her leaving then it would be better to leave off calling him for at least a few days. Maybe a week to be safe. 

“We’re going to need to find a few partners so you won't have to take the brunt of the fighting.” Ruby looked at Hoshi. “On average trainers have four pokemon but we're allowed to have six on us at a time. A water type to take on any fire types we come across would be good, maybe a normal type as well with thick skin that can act like a tank…” 

She took another bite as she considered what would be best and what would be allowed by the laws Team Panacea set down. They claimed that there was a shortage of pokemon in the region and that was why breeders were watched so closely and also why there were Team Panacea members all along the roads to make sure no one over hunted pokemon. She felt small hands on her thigh and looked down in surprise when Hoshi crawled into her lap and leaned against her to eat his half of the apple. Giggling softly, she pet his head and leaned down to kiss him, amazed by the toughness of his scales against her lips. She heard him cooing softly and lightly stroked her fingers along his good arm, not wanting to agitate the wound on his other side. 

“Do you think we can find a good team member in this area?” Ruby asked softly. “Like a poochyena?”

Hoshi growled softly and she looked down at him, seeing that he had finished his part of the apple and had his arms crossed over his chest like he was pouting. 

“Or… maybe a Wurmple?” She blinked in confusion. 

When he nodded in agreement she smiled softly and put her arms around him, pulling him close to her and giggling as she pressed kisses across his head quickly. 

“You are too cute…” she couldn't help but whisper, loving the fact that he was cooing and cuddling up to her. 

She had wanted a pokemon for so long, had little plushies to try to make up for the fact that she couldn't have a warm buddy to cuddle. And now here she was with her arms full and her heart fit to bursting as he nuzzled at her neck and stretched his free hand over to try to take another apple out of her pack. Laughing, she let him grab another and watched as he chomped down on the second, rubbing the top of his head. Yes, if he liked apples, she could get used to it. 

Hoshi tensed in her arms and she paused to look down at him, seeing that he was staring into the bushes nearby. There was a little black nose peeking through the greenery and it snuffled around, starting to inch towards them and the apples in a way that it probably thought was stealthy. Hoshi slid out of her arms, standing between her and the invader and Ruby had to smile when a happy face popped out and beady eyes stared up at her. He was… simply put, adorable. She watched as the brave little Zigzagoon inched out in tiny paw steps. He knew that she was watching, of course, but maybe he thought if he moved slow enough he could get away with getting closer. 

Hoshi snarled angrily and Ruby lowered herself to his level, her voice soft as she murmured to him. “We do need another team member, and it's not a Poochyena…”

Little by little the pokemon kept inching out and Ruby giggled, smothering her laughter behind her hand. Tapping Hoshi's shoulder, she pointed to the apple in his hand to grab his attention. She made a quick motion with her hands, mimicking how he had snapped the apple in half earlier. The small pokemon looked from her to the apple and hugged it to himself with a scowl, making her frown. 

“You're not going to share?”

“....tree…”

A little application of guilt was all it took and he broke the apple in half, offering up the second half to her. She took it and kissed his head, smiling warmly when he purred. Reaching her arm out as far as she could, she set the half of the apple on the ground to see if the Zigzagoon would be enticed further out. She sat back with one arm around Hoshi and smiled brightly when the little pokemon came out a bit faster. It snuffled at the ground and she watched as it moved side to side as it walked, true to it's name and not just the patterning in it's fur. Once it was close enough to the apple, she reached for her bag and took out a pokeball, her fingers trembling with excitement. She could do this couldn't she?  How hard would it be while it was presumably at full health?  

The Zigzagoon paused when it saw her motions and it's tail tensed behind him as he stared at her. It's tongue stuck out a little and she swallowed nervously, her arm loosening around Hoshi in case he needed to jump up to defend her. She could tell that Hoshi wanted to rush forward and push the strange pokemon away and it was only her quiet words before that she wanted this one to join them that stopped him from pummeling the Zigzagoon.  The wild pokemon tilted his head at her and then took another step out, taking a bite of the offered apple and using his paws to hold it in place and make it easier to take bites out of.  Ruby held her breath as she stared down at the little pokemon, a smile quirking her features as piece by piece the apple disappeared into the pokemon’s mouth.  Hoshi pressed himself back against her in his effort not to lash outwards and took his gaze off this new potential partner just long enough to see that Ruby was drawing her arm back to toss the ball.

The Zigzagoon looked up to watch the arc of the ball but miraculously he didn’t try to dodge away from it.  Instead, he actually pushed himself up on his hind legs a bit and let the ball tap against his nose.  A red light poured out of the pokeball and fell over the Zigzagoon before falling to the ground and rocking slightly.  It barely moved from side to side before the button in it’s center dinged to let Ruby know that the little pokemon was calm inside and willing to stay with her.  

Giggling happily, Ruby reached out and snatched it up, her eyes wide as she studied the ball and then hooked it onto her belt next to the ball that she used for Hoshi.  Rubbing her hand against her thigh, she considered what she could call this new little cutie that she had in her group.  He was half one color and half of another so maybe Demi would be neat?  Grinning, she let her hand drift up and touched the ball, glancing at Hoshi, who still looked just a little sore.

“It’ll be alright.” She assured him and opened her arms up to the grass type.  “This will just make it a little easier on you since we’re one step closer to having a proper group!”

Hoshi still looked a little hesitant, but he didn’t hesitate to hop back into her arms and cuddle up to her.  Putting her head down against his, she inhaled softly and blinked at the scent that he gave off.  She was so used to the slightly damp smell in her town that the fresh grass scent that Hoshi gave off was something of a novelty.  

Hoshi muttered something under his breath and to her amusement, Ruby noticed that his cheeks were turning an interesting shade of red. She wasn't holding him too closely or tightly so it couldn't be that she was cutting off his air. Still, she loosened her grip and let him relax against her. His skinny arms stayed around her as far as they could reach and she stroked the top of his head, taking another deep breath. 

“We need to keep walking. I'd like to get to Fairwick before the sun comes up. I know it's dangerous walking around at night but right now it's necessary… I wish I had thought to bring a flashlight with me but…”

She bit at her lower lip. Her father kept the flashlight in the hall closet just past his bedroom door. She couldn't get it because she didn't want to take the chance that he'd open the door and see her walking around at night.  Hoshi was looking at her quizzically and she realized that she'd simply drifted off in mid sentence. Clearing her throat, she smiled and leaned down to pet Hoshi, her fingers lightly rubbing the side of his head. She couldn't tell him what happened because he wouldn't understand. It would just upset her to talk about it and he would likely get upset because she was and wouldn't know how to help. Enemies we're so much more difficult when you couldn't just reach out and hit them. No, things would just be easier if she kept this to herself. 

“But when we get to Fairwick we should be able to buy any supplies that I'm missing. I'd like to make a list but I didn't bring a journal with me. Once I get my pokenav I’ll be able to jot notes into it, I think. It's honestly amazing how far technology has advanced since Team Panacea took over.  Its monitored if it's something being uploaded, but… it's not too bad…” Her voice lowered and she frowned a bit. 

She had never known anything but the rule of Team Panacea so she felt conflicted when she heard reports on the news about any dissenters trying to overthrow their government. It's true that the laws were strict, but they were that way for a reason. And punishments for pokemon trainers were harder, but that was because they needed to be more careful than the rest of the population. Having a team of pokemon was a huge responsibility and Team Panacea altered the laws to reflect that. 

She shook her head a bit and got up, dusting bits of dead grass off her butt as she did so. If she sat there all night wool gathering then her father was going to find her. Motioning to Hoshi, she started walking and smiled warmly when he joined her, putting his hand into hers. They wouldn't be able to catch any more pokemon along that route because of the new laws, but they could still battle any that they found. The only problem was that the dark would make it that much more difficult to see things. 

The trees around them didn’t have much foliage on them so the stars in the sky could be easily seen and she tipped her head up as she walked, trying to see the constellations that she had read about in books.  They’d be harder to see once she reached the cities where the gyms were so she wanted to enjoy this while she could.  Taking a breath, she stepped over some roots that were in her path and smiled when she saw that there was a path that had been trod down by other people walking.  It was a thin path because there weren’t many who wanted to come to Edgedale, but there was still that small section of grass flattened down that she added her footprints to.  Hoshi was quiet at her side and she looked down when he removed his hand from hers, presumably so he could act as her guard and protect her from any of the bug pokemon that were around.  

“Don’t worry, we’re almost to Fairwick!  Once we’re there it’ll be that much easier.  We can probably find a training spot and a library or something that we can study at.” Ruby spoke softly, her heart starting to speed up when she saw the soft lights of the small town coming into view. 

The twenty minute walk to get to Fairwick had passed a lot faster than she expected, so she had either been very distracted or her walking pace was faster than she had thought it was.  It wasn’t like it was a big accomplishment for her though.  According to what Professor Snag had told her at one point, Fairwick and Edgedale actually used to be one small township as opposed to two tiny villages.  He had just never mentioned to her -why- that had changed.  She had never thought to ask either.  As she came up to the gates of the small town, she swallowed, seeing that there was a guard there blocking the way.  Hoshi came closer to her and she absently reached out to him, stroking her fingers along the top of his head to help him stay calm.  Or maybe it was more to keep herself from turning around and running away into the forest.

“New pokemon trainer?” The guard smiled to her and she relaxed a fraction when she realized it was another woman standing guard there.

“How…. how could you tell?”

“You’ve got that look to you.  Your clothes aren’t ripped up at all and you’ve got a starter pokemon with you.  If you go up the street here and then take a left, the pokemon center is the third building on the right hand side of the next block.  You really can’t miss it, and you probably need it if you’ve been on the road all night.”

“Not all night, but I could use a little breather.” Ruby smiled softly and nodded.  Not to mention, she still needed to get her pokenav and register herself as a trainer so she didn’t get in trouble later down the line.

“Your Treeko will have to go away though, for safety reasons.  Since you’re new, you should make sure to read the rule book that’s uploaded into the pokenavs if you haven’t already.  Ignorance of the law is not an excuse.” The guard’s expression turned a little stern and Ruby tensed before reaching for Hoshi’s pokeball.

“Yes ma’am!”  

That was when Ruby realized that the guard had a small patch on her breast pocket that was in the shape of a P.  This was, apparently one of the lower members of Team Panacea that was in charge of Fairwick.  She had never thought that she would actually see one of them this soon into her journey.  Fumbling, she recalled Hoshi and then hugged the ball to her chest.  She wasn’t entirely sure what the protocol for dealing with a Panacea member was, but to be safe, she bowed to the guard before hurrying up the street.  The tall street lamps that illuminated the way for her were helpful in letting her get a good look at the signs and when she saw the various small duplexes, she couldn’t help but wonder if Jasper was supposed to be safe at home in one of these little homes.  He had left for a reason though, and she didn’t want to ask him and bring up any bad memories.  Maybe if she saw him a few more times, though, he might open up to her and tell her what was so bad about Fairwick that he wanted to leave.  Everything here seemed so nice.  The garden beds were fuller than the ones she had known back home.  There was no graffiti on the walls anywhere either.  If she had to be honest, she thought this place looked like a great place to live.  Certainly better than Edgedale at least.  

There was very little litter on the streets and while the buildings weren’t all brand new and shining towers like in the cities, they did have a rustic charm.  The pokecenter that she was making her way over to was actually an older log building and she grinned as she went inside, loving the fresh scent of wood around her when she went in.  The interior looked crisp and clean and to her surprise the flooring was actually a type of laminate rather than wood floors.  But then, that probably made it easier for the staff to clean up any blood spills from injured pokemon.  Walking up to the counter, she waited patiently for one of the staff members.

“H-hello!  I need to register as a trainer, please?  And get a pokenav too.”

“Sure.” The person behind the counter looked bored, but maybe they were just tired because it was creeping up on two am?  They passed her a tablet and a stylus.  “Please read through all documents carefully and fill out your information.  If you have questions you can come up and ask me.  Once the documents are filled out, you can be issued the pokenav.  Have a good night.”

Ruby accepted the tablet and stylus, smiling brightly as she brought them over to a surprisingly comfortable chair that was a few feet away from a PC set up.  A sign declared that it was a pokemon storage so that any trainer with more than six pokemon could send out extra pokemon and not be burdened with the weight of them.  That… wasn’t exactly true, but it was nicer than the truth.  Trainers were only allowed to carry six pokemon at a time so it wouldn’t lend to an unfair advantage in fights.  Taking a deep breath, Ruby looked at the tablet and booted it up, starting to read through the rules and regulations of being a pokemon trainer.  This was the same thing that her sister had done years ago wasn’t it…?

At the bottom of the page she saw the notation of how many pages she had to go through and she almost groaned aloud.  Thankfully when she was going through she saw the price of a pokenav was included in the price of registration.  The only caveat was that if something happened to the nav, it wasn’t easily replaced so the trainer would have to pay for a second one out of pocket.  And the retail value of a pokenav was way out of her budget, so she would have to be careful with hers.  

Standard for any fight, the loser had to hand over a set amount of cash.  For the longest time, the rules were that you had to pass over half of the money that you had on you, which was fair until trainers started complaining that they were only getting a paltry amount of cash for the fights that occurred.  So instead, Team Panacea declared that you had to give a certain amount depending on how many gym badges you had.  It was honestly more fair this way in Ruby’s opinion.  You just had to ensure that you had that set amount of money tucked away in case you lost.  Of course, once she paid for her registration, she wouldn’t have much money left over so she would have to rely on either winning or hoping that the trainers she went up against would accept drugs in trade.

Since she had won a fight earlier she would have loved to accepted a little bit of money from Jasper, but until she was registered, she couldn’t legally do that.  But, there was no time like the present!

The first bit of information that she started to fill out, once she got past the rules, was easy enough.  Name, date of birth, hometown.  As far as she knew, she didn’t have a social insurance number… was that something she should have tried to get from her father before she left, or was that something else she would have to purchase on her trip away from him?  She didn’t have a job and she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with her trainer license aside from getting a strong team and becoming independent, but here it asked if she was going to try for the league championship; become a breeder; a contest expert… there were so many things to choose from and she had no idea that they even existed before now!  There was a note that she could always change it later though, and it was a required field.  Nervously, she checked the box for league championship and then continued down the list.

Next of kin.

Slowly, Ruby got up from her chair and moved over to the desk once more, her eyes wide with worry as she set the tablet down on the counter.

“Do you have a question, or are you finished?” The person behind the counter folded their arms on the table, looking at her blandly.

“A question, please.  Why does it ask about next of kin?  Does the next of kin get notified about where I’m going?”

“Next of kin is notified only about you if you happen to break the law and they have to come and get you, or if you die somewhere along the road.  Your pokenav would be brought to the nearest pokecenter and they would forward any information to the police and then your kin.”

Ruby paused and frowned a little, looking down at the tablet.  “Wait… Next of kin is always notified when there’s a death.”

“Yes…” The person behind the counter frowned as well, not understanding why Ruby would have a problem with being told this.

“I… have a next of kin, but I don’t know where they currently are.  They moved away, can this be added in later?”

“It’s a little unorthodox, but I think that can be done.” The worker nodded and took the tablet from her, plugging it in so that the answers would automatically scan and then alert them if a section wasn’t filled out properly.  They had seen girls like Ruby before.  Boys too, though it was a little less common.  One side of the center was actually dedicated to a wall of notes from parents begging their children to come home or call them.

There was a soft ding as the information went through and Ruby handed over her money for the license, smiling when she was passed her own dark red tablet.  Upon booting up it took a picture of her and told her what her trainer number was along with scanning the two pokeballs that were at her waist, registering the pokemon with her and uploading the information.

“There’s a bank next to the pokemart where you can sign up for an account to have all your winnings filed into it.  They won’t be open until morning, however.”

Ruby nodded and started looking through her nav, grinning when she saw that it actually gave a list of businesses in the town and marked them on her map along with the times that they would be open.  Walking over to the chair where she had filled out the registration, she curled up and set the alarm on the nav.  As soon as it was open, she was going to get an account and then continue on out of town.  Her father usually slept till just before noon, so if she woke up on time she would have perhaps a three hour head start on him to get that done and then keep running.


	3. Into each life rain must fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby makes a few friends, both pokemon and human

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has taken me forever to finish and I want to thank everyone who's been leaving kudos and sending support because I really appreciate it. There's a bit of a lull with excitement but the plot is slowly coming along. Next chapter is when shit is really going to start hitting the fan, though.

Ruby yawned as she made her way out of the bank, rubbing at her eyes to try to push the sleep away. The people at the bank were kind enough to offer free coffee as she set up her new account, but the bitter beverage could only do so much when she was working on something around six hours of sleep. Opening up her new pokenav, she smiled as she started to sort things inside the drive. It felt like she could keep any information on there she could possibly need. There was even a section for spreadsheets that she might want to come up with for budgeting and a calendar so she could properly manage her time and training. 

She had thought that the pokenav would give her a map for each city with a gym but it appeared that wasn't the case. There was a map of Erotanis and then each city was marked along with the routes, but more detailed information wouldn't fill in until she got to the city and grabbed an update at the local pokecenter. 

Looking at the map, however, she did see that there was another small route above Fairwick that would give her an opportunity to train and catch another pokemon for her team. Since it was so early in the morning she didn't think that there would be too many trainers up and about yet and this was a route close to the town so she doubted that other trainers would be camping up there. Why bother to get a pup tent and sleep in the wild when there was a perfectly fine pokecenter about ten minutes away?

Rubbing her cheeks to try to force herself into waking up more, Ruby sighed and started towards route 103. She could do a bit of training there, catch another pokemon hopefully, swing back to the pokecenter for healing and then go out to route 102. Even taking into account that she was likely going to run into trainers at some point, and would need to take rests so no one got too exhausted, she should be able to reach Bleakburg before nightfall. 

“Good thing I have a pokenav now.” Ruby murmured to herself as she brought up a time table menu and alarm. Once she got to the time she allotted herself, it would buzz at her to let her know to go back to town. Perfect in theory. 

She had plenty of time with Hoshi the night before so maybe it would be best to give Demi some time to stretch his legs. She hummed softly as she took out the Zigzagoon’s ball and once she took a step onto route 103, he popped out with a bounce in his step, going side to side. Watching the way he moved made her smile and she took a breath, she was going to have to incorporate what was natural to him into her training. Being able to nimbly move side to side meant his ability to dodge was likely good right now, so she could attempt to push on that. Maybe some added weight so he could gain more muscle?  Prepare an obstacle course to help with his speed? Once she figured that out, she'd have to make do with their surroundings or pay for time in a local gym right?

Tying her dark red hair up out of the way, she called for Demi and smiled when he turned towards her without hesitating. His tail swept across the ground in quick back and forth movements, eager to take direction or just play with her. She was still nervous and she knew that each day would make it all easier. She just wished that she could see what their training would bring them. 

“Okay Demi, time for training. Are you ready?”

The little zigzagoon barked in response and she figured that was a yes since he wasn't ignoring her in favor of licking his own butt. There were logs nearby and Ruby smiled as she motioned Demi over and sat one of them upright. It was sturdy and wide enough that she was sure it wouldn't break after a few hits so she motioned Demi over. 

“Show me your tackle Demi!” Ruby felt her heart begin to pound as she held onto the log to make sure it wouldn't topple from being struck. 

Demi barked at her and tilted his head, backing up about a foot and dancing from paw to paw. Ruby worried at her lip a moment. Did this mean what she thought it did?  As Demi continued to stare, she sighed and rubbed at her neck. Of course it did. Demi didn't know what words were related to what attacks just yet. The reason Hoshi did was because he had already had some training by being raised by the Professor. Taking a breath, she smiled readily and motioned Demi to come closer. They would just have to start win very basic attacks then, things he clearly had to know and call out the name of the attack as he did so, that way it would all become associated in his mind. There was a pokemon Professor that did an entire study on that, she was fairly certain. Maybe her pokenav would let her download articles to read or scan from libraries?  

Ruby waited patiently for Demi to come over and patted the log again. Demi looked up and raised a paw, swatting at the log almost cautiously. Questioning if that was the right thing. Rubbing a hand along Demi head, she helped turn him and then repeated “tackle” as she pressed his side against the log. Demi tilted his head a bit and Ruby smiled in turn, wanting to keep her hopes up. Good teams had optimistic views right?  She let Demi step away and felt her throat pull tense as they started walking those tentative steps together. 

It was ridiculous that she wanted to cry when Demi got it right on the third try. She pushed her smile hard to keep tears at bay, refusing to let them fall just yet. She was going to be a better trainer than her father was as a parent. She was going to make sure all her team knew they were loved and that when they did the right thing, it would be rewarded.

Nothing like her father, who taught her how to hold her breath when he passed by her bedroom door. Who looked at her with so much annoyance and even disdain when she got sick and couldn't do what he wanted, forcing him to change his plans around. He had refined her with beauty magazines and casual praise. Had brought her playboy and esquire magazines when he thought her old enough and talked to her about how easy everything was, and wouldn't she like to try it?

Her fingers curled on the log and she blinked as tears slowly tracked down her cheeks. Demi paused in mid rush towards the log and she nodded, smiling as she repeated the command. At first, the little pokemon stood staring and then he moved over, trotting to her side and getting up on his hind legs so he could lick her cheek clean. 

“Good boy, Demi. It's okay.” she sighed and nodded, turning to kiss his nose. 

He was insistent on pushing the log aside in favor of making himself comfortable in her lap and she curled her arms around him carefully. He was so soft she could barely believe it, and as her fingers carded in his thick fur, he licked her chin and panted happily. If she had a Pokemon like Demi or Hoshi when she lived with her father would she have been able to fight back against him and get out faster?  Perhaps, but there was no use in mourning over lost time. Besides, staying with him as long as she did enabled her to put together a stash of money so she could survive now. 

Looking at her watch, she sighed and hugged Demi once more. Just a few more minutes of cuddles and then she'd go back to training. According to regulations she could catch a new Pokemon on this road too and it would be best to fill her party with a variety of types so she could handle whatever came at her. A sweet little wurmple would be nice, but it might not last long in battles. And she had Demi, so would catching a poochyena be redundant?  Looking to her side, she sighed faintly, her brow furrowed as she considered the options that we're available on this route according to her pokenav. A soft flutter from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned to get a better look at it, seeing a splash of white and baby blue in the bushes. Flicking open her pokenav, she directed it towards the source of the noise and gasped softly. 

“Perfect!  Hoshi, c’mere for a second!”

The green lizard yawned as he popped out of his ball and Ruby put a finger to her lips to show he needed to be quiet. Pointing towards the Pokemon in the bushes, she made hand motions for him to ambush it and then held up a pokeball. He grinned in response and gave her a thumbs up before dropping down to the ground, keeping silent as he swept his way through the grass. Ruby kept one hand on Demi to keep him from jumping in excitement, needing him to be quiet as well. She was soon rewarded with the sight of a well trounced Pokemon being tossed out of the bushes, Hoshi following after it and whistling to her in excitement. 

Tossing the ball, she held her breath as it seemed like the creature still had some energy left to fight back. But after the third wiggle back and forth, it gave in and the light blinked on it, telling her she had made her capture. 

Picking up the ball, she had to grin broadly. She had been so terrified when she met Jasper on the road before. He was an experienced trainer with a Pokemon that held a type advantage over her Hoshi, but now she would have an advantage over him in turn!

“Dexter is a good name for a Wingull, right?” Ruby spun the ball on the tip of her finger before settling it on her belt once more. She'd need to head back to the pokecenter to heal him before she could train him. So for now it was just her, Hoshi and Demi. 

Having Hoshi and Demi both out, she got up and stretched her arms high above her with a yawn. Hoshi was following her lead and Demi looked eager but confused on how to do the same. Laughing softly, Ruby did simple stretches that she knew even a quadruped would be able to follow along with. She was undoubtedly going to be doing a lot of exercise now, and considering she was forced to stay inside nearly all her life, she had a lot of catching up to do. She didn't think she would ever be a mountain climber, but she needed some muscle to deal with lifting and carrying a backpack as well as walking all the roads from one city to the next for gym battles. 

She also needed to do research on what gyms specialized in which types so she wouldn't be destroyed before she even started. She was only allowed one catch per area, something that would be easily checked with the data in her pokeballs. If a nurse at the pokecenter saw even two Pokemon from the same area, they were obligated to report it to the nearest Panacea officer. The only caveat to that was if you traded pokemon with someone, and even then, it would be inspected and marked down as something to be watched. 

As she moved through her stretches, she smiled to the two pokemon with her and cheered them on. Hoshi let out little huffs as he stretched low to the ground, fingers flexing before laying his hands flat against the ground. This was something that he saw humans on TV doing all the time, though they usually wore small body suits instead of full outfits like Ruby was doing. It was odd how attached he felt to her after just one night, but the professor had raised him to be loyal. Even before he had been handed over, Snag had told him that Ruby needed him to do everything he could to defend her. Snag had told him about Ruby’s sire and while the professor couldn't tell him for sure what had happened in the house, he had been sure that there was enough bad things happening that it warranted Snag bending rules to get her out as soon as possible. Bad enough to risk sending her out to dodge Panacea and the other things that plagued their region. He didn't think as he followed her exercise, perking up when she started to jog and called for them to follow her in a path around the trees. 

There was a light flush to her cheeks that was more than just the exercise, her eyes were alight as she nimbly avoided the roots of the trees and side stepped large rocks that were in her path. Hoshi remembered when Snag did their starter training, he created small obstacle courses for them that were similar to this so it was easy enough for him to move like Ruby did, but he heard a whine from Demi when the wild pokemon tripped up occasionally. 

“You'll be okay, c'mon Demi, you can do it.” Ruby smiled and bounced on the balls of her feet. 

Without realizing it, the human was giving them small hints on how to better themselves going over the roots and around the small pieces in their path. Moving the reed from one side of his mouth to the other, Hoshi began to bound from side to side in quick hops. Watching the two pokemon eagerly doing their training, Ruby had to grin as she looked at the trees and found a tall tree with a sturdy branch. She wanted to do pull ups but while Hoshi could probably do it, Demi couldn't. And she might not even be able to pull off one with her weak upper arm strength. 

“Alright, a few more rounds of this, then we’ll do some push ups!  Or rather squats…” she chuckled, looking to Demi. 

 

-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

 

Rubbing her sore arms, Ruby looked at her pokenav worriedly. They had gone over the time she allotted for training, but they were doing so well that she didn't want to stop too soon. Looking behind her at the town, she took a breath before stepping into route 102 and looking around. There was a dirt path worn down by trainers that led to a small pond and she glanced at the three balls on her belt before heading towards it. She had helped her boys freshen up and get food and drink after their training but had forgotten all about refilling her water bottles. As she went towards the pond she could see someone was crouched beside the water. Cautiously, she gave them space as she knelt down to fill her bottles, filtering them quickly before putting them away. The person by the water was a young boy with a dirty face and she smiled when she saw him scrubbing dirt off his face and from behind his ears. When he noticed her, he froze up and she saw he had a pokeball on his belt that had a dim light blinking. 

“You're a trainer too?” Ruby looked at him in surprise, her eyes widening faintly. “Aren't you…?”

“I'm old enough!  I caught my pokemon myself.” He looked at her with a stubborn tenseness in his baby face. 

“I'm just a little surprised. Even when you're old enough, most people don't start out until they're fifteen or so. I'm actually 19 and I've just started.” Ruby spoke quietly as she fished in her bag, finding her granola bars and snapping one in half before offering it to him. “You wanna get famous?  Do the champion challenge?”

The boy reached out gingerly to take the half she offered him and chewed it slowly, calling out his pokemon, a small wurmple so he could give it bits as well. “I could do it, if I wanted to. My step dad says I'm too stupid. Says that no one can go all the way with bug type pokemon.”

“You ever hear of Bugsy?” Ruby smiled conspiratorially. 

The boy looked at her in confusion and she took out her pokenav, activating the screen and scrolling through until she could bring up articles on other regions. Finding Jomere, she showed him a picture that they had on file of the gym leader. A scyther at their side and a bug catching net leaning on their shoulder, the leader barely looked more than sixteen. 

“Bugsy is a gym leader, and a good one. I'm not saying it would be easy to be a bug type trainer, but if Bugsy can be a gym leader then you could do it. But you really should be careful…” 

The boy looked at her and she reached out to poke his wurmple, listening to it squeal indignantly. He jerked the bug away from her and she offered him a small smile. 

“Bug types are easy prey for some trainers. They’ll pick on you so you would have to train twice as hard to get half as far as some others do.”

The boy scowled and looked away, pulling the fat wurmple into his lap to hug it, the bug’s tiny legs clinging to him turn. Sighing softly, Ruby sat back and kicked off her shoes so she could wiggle her toes in the grass. 

“As for your step dad?  Only stupid people call others stupid, and adults that do it to kids are just bullies. You don't listen to him when he says shit like that.” Ruby looked at the boy sternly. “Learn how to make your pokemon strong, find friends that will help you train and keep using bugs if you want. Just make sure you study.”

“Studying is stu…. It's boring.” The boy frowned up at her. 

“Maybe.  But I bet Bugsy had to study to get as far as they did.” Ruby smiled softly. “Maybe you should ask your teacher about different technical machines that the pokecenter will lend you?”

The young trainer considered this as his wurmple inched across the ground and started to move in circles around him, looking for the best patch of grass to eat. When he looked up at Ruby, there was a little smile on his face and he tugged at his ball cap to shyly hide his eyes. 

“Do you think… could I get your nav-number?  So I can call you sometime?”

If it was an older boy she would have felt wary about the offer, but he still had all his baby fat and the way he acted reminded her of her little sister that she dearly missed. Adjusting the pokenav in her hands, she tapped over to the communication setting and waited for him to do the same. The pokenav that he carried had stickers on it of different types of bugs and some sort of superhero from some sort of Sentai show that she didn't recognize. There was a quiet jingle that played as the two synched up and sent information and Ruby lifted her pokenav with a grin. 

“Nice to meet you Alfonse!”

“Nice to meet you too miss Ruby.” Alfonse grinned up at her, clicking his nav shut and stuffing it into the fanny pack that he wore. The wurmple that inched around his feet pushing up on its lower two sets of legs so it could chirp and crawl onto his lap. “So, if you just started, does that mean you're gonna go for the champion challenge?”

Ruby tucked her nav away and leaned back on her hands, looking up at the clouds that were slowly shifting to a weak grey color. “I'm not sure just yet. I have a couple of ideas, and they all require me to go through the gym challenge though, so I’ll do it one step at a time. I'm sure that as I grow with my team I’ll be able to figure it out.”

She raised a hand to brush the hair from her face and noticed that Alfonse was looking at her in awe. Maybe he thought it was strange that she was an adult and didn't know what she wanted to do yet?  Rubbing her cheek absently, she sighed. 

“My big sister left to do the league challenge a few years back, actually. What I really want is just to find her. If I can do that, I'd be happy to just settle down and maybe work on a berry farm.” Ruby stretched one leg out in front of her and inhaled deeply as the clouds gathered overhead. 

“Aww man, it's gonna rain.” Alfonse scowled and got up from his spot on the grass in a hurry, not bothering to try to wipe away the grass stains on his shorts. “I better go home before it starts pouring. Bippy hates getting wet.”

“Be safe, I’ll send you a message when I reach the next town.” Ruby promised as Alfonse waved to her. 

She didn't think that he would really remember to keep in touch after about a week or so, but it wouldn't hurt anything to talk to him every once in a while and check up to make sure his step father's words weren't digging in and hurting him. Once she was sure that her water bottles were full and tucked away safe in her bag, Ruby got up and dusted herself off. She wouldn't mind a bit of rain, but too much would make it harder to travel if she got sick so she'd have to keep moving to the next town over. Bleakburg was waiting, not to mention she could try to catch her fourth pokemon along this route. As she waded through the grass, she saw a few people rush by her in order to get home and she kept her head down as they went by. Assumably they lived in Fairwick, and once her father found her gone, he'd be asking trainers her own age if they'd seen her passing by. She was hopeful that he would ignore young boys like Alfonse, much like he had ignored her when she was little. There was a couple of trainers that we're staying to get more experience in strange weather and she saw that someone was spreading their arms open wide, welcoming the weather. There was a few berry trees that had lotad laying in the mud and as the rain started they all made their way out so they could get some of the fresh wetness all over them. 

Looking from the pokemon to her pokenav, Ruby frowned faintly and lifted the tool up to see what it said about the leafy pokemon. Apparently it needed to keep the leaf on it's head wet, which she didn't think would be an issue, but she knew that in order to get to one of the gyms she would have to pass a region with high humidity. Distracted by her internal debate, she nearly jumped when a trainer called out to her demanding a battle. 

Giving herself a shake, she grabbed Demi’s ball, whipping it out so the pokemon would rush along the grass to his opponent. 

“Demi!  Tackle.” 

There was no hesitation, and this time Ruby didn't feel the heart pounding fear as she looked at their opponents across from them. A small blue bird that the trainer called Taillow as it popped out of it's ball. 

“Keep it grounded, Demi.” Ruby called out as the two traded small blows and worked one another into a sweat. 

Soon, Ruby was watching as a small amount of money tricked into her account from winning the battle and her heart hammered fiercely. This was money she had earned with her pokemon. Had this been what Pearl felt like when she started out on her journey?  The feeling of knowing she had that much more control over her life had Ruby biting her lip to keep from crying happily. 

“You've been to Bleakburg right?” Ruby looked at the other trainer. “Have you seen the gym yet?”

“You mean 'Sleepy time gym’?” The other trainer shook his head and then rubbed his arms absently. “I mean I've seen it from the outside but not the inside. I've heard from others though. It's a normal type, full of pokemon that might as well be brick walls, they soak up hits like it's no one's business.”

“Why is it called the Sleepy Time Gym...?” Ruby looked at the road that would lead to the next town and the pokemon gym waiting for her. 

“The gym leader is… different. If you lose there, he gets his pokemon to use some attack that makes you go to sleep. He takes his winnings out of you while you're asleep.” The trainer looked uncomfortable and looked down at the ball that held his small bird type. “I definitely need to get more practice in.”

Swallowing nervously, Ruby nodded and took a small step to the side, feeling her stomach clench uncomfortably. At least if she lost she wouldn't have to be awake for it…. But she didn't want to consider that. She needed to train so the threat of what would happen would never have to loom over her head. Making a comment that she needed to practice more as well, Ruby excused herself and went to search for their next team mate. The lotad were no longer lounging near the berry trees and she sighed as she looked around for someone else to help round out the team. The rain was starting to come down now, pelting her with cold and she shuddered as her shoes squished in the mud. Seeing a spot of white in a pile of brown mud, she moved over to it and frowned when she saw it was a potion. From the weight of it, it was still full so she wasn't sure why it was out here. Taking a step back, she turned and looked around to see where it might have come from. Maybe there was a box around here that had gotten waylaid on it's way to the center?

Taking a few steps to the side and then deeper into the grass, Ruby nearly tripped over a second potion. She grinned as she knelt down to pick it up and started to use some wet grass to clean the bottle off. It really did seem to be her lucky day and she absently wondered if she might also find a gold nugget or something worth a lot of money that she could fence later. Putting a hand in the grass, she flattened it down and started to sweep through the wet blades to see if there was anything else waiting, a series of cold wet drops hitting the back of her neck and finding their way down under the collar of her shirt. She could feel her clothes slowly getting wetter and knew that she was going to need to hurry to Bleakburg soon, otherwise she'd end up catching a cold and possibly passing it to her pokemon. Her hoodie was in her bag but she didn't want to pull it out and end up getting one of the only warm things she had brought with her wet and cold as well. Hissing as the cold started to seep into the fabric, she pushed herself to her feet and made to head to the path leading to the next village. 

That's when out of the corner of her eye she saw something dark brown in the grass. It looked like a backpack of some sort and she went to see if she could find an ID so she might be able to turn it on to the pokecenter. But as she took a step forward, she noticed something else. There was a small pokemon near the bag, resting and rocking back and forth with no sound coming from it. Her pokenav told her that it was a seedot. She should have been reaching for Demi’s pokeball, but the way it moved had her stopping abruptly. Her eyes narrowed as she inched forward and her heart pounded at the coppery scent of blood. 

“Oh gods…” she whispered, seeing a hand in the grass. 

Thankfully, it was still attached to an arm. That was one less horror she had to look at, but it still made her stomach drop when she saw that hidden in the dark deep grass was a young man’s body. She clapped her hands over her mouth, though she couldn't be sure if it was to keep from screaming or vomiting. All thoughts of catching something flew from her and she spun around, slipping in the wet grass and falling on her face. The adrenaline rushed in her and she scrambled to get to her feet, feeling like she couldn't get away fast enough. It was rare that trainers got killed because of battles, but not unheard of. Someone wanting revenge for a pokemon they raised since birth becoming maimed, or just not wanting to hand over the owed money. Maybe this was why she never heard from Pearl?

Fighting back a whimper, she rushed towards the path to Bleakburg, knowing that she would at least be safe once she got to the pokecenter.


End file.
